Black Dawn
by The Psyche
Summary: A mysterious massacre at the Icicle Inn leaves no sign of the killer, and the reforming ShinRa Corporation is quick to investigate the issue. President Rufus considers the possibility that it's the one man he never wanted to see again.
1. Wraith

The early hours of the morning were riddled with cries and howls among the wind, which could send a tremor down even the bravest man's spine. The sea swept upon the shore somewhere along the eastern coast of the continent, each time crashing into the sands, keeping the thousands of stories it had locked away to itself. With the ghostly ambiance possessing the coastline aside, the sea was a sleeping creature, twinkling in the moonlight serenely. A lengthy glittering blade surfaced from the blanket of saltwater near the water's edge. It cut through the sand gracefully, and a arm followed it. The arm was that of a black cloaked wraith, treading forward, kicking up sand with its movements. Haunting buckled boots, ripped and torn to look like some kind of animal had consumed and regurgitated them, pointed toward the silent grassy hills and mountains of the mainland. The robes of the traveler whipped in a southerly direction from a gust of wind, as it strode forward, changing its pace slightly, keeping a hooded head hanging toward the ground.

The pilot of the approaching hovercraft was a low-ranking ShinRa employee, whom the President considered rather unimportant and disposable. Across the side of the hovercraft mowing down the landscape of the main eastern continent, were the bright white letters spelling 'ShinRa', a dying corporation that used to have a firm grip on the world. The war machine's aqua colored tint couldn't be seen in the dark of the morning, but the crew would soon be engaging a cloaking device shortly.

"We got him sir, in the middle of nowhere" the pilot said with a sense of urgency. A human figure lost in the shadows cast over the hovercraft troop bay, shifted slightly closer to the Heads-Up Display of the hovercraft console.

"It's him. He's returned" a calm and cool voice replied.

"That's impossible" objected a woman sitting in the red overhead light of the troop bay. A wisp of fringe hair darted through the black of the corner, to turn to the woman in the red coat.

"If there's anything I learned from being in the presence of the previous Chief Of Science, Officer Lacarste, is that when it comes to _him_" the shadowed man said, bobbing his head toward the landscape, "nothing is impossible."

Lacarste didn't respond for a moment, considering if her disagreement was worth it. Her pride however was not something to be trampled on, and she would argue her superior if necessary. She tucked a strip of white hanging hair behind her right ear.

"The reason I'm sitting here with you now is because Hojo was a madman" she said, pointing out the dead scientist's obvious flaw.

"As well as a genius" the man was quick to add. He leaned forth from the shadows, so his balanced face with smooth lines came into the light. A flash of golden orange hair caught Lacarste's eye as the hovercraft bumped and rattled over rough terrain. "When we find him, Officer, I think you'll be doing a great deal of… _re-evaluating_ what is impossible, and what is not…"

"I am a woman of science, Mister President; I believe what I see and not what legends may speak of. I _do_ believe, that if you're searching for a reliable Chief Of Science, then you don't want someone who will jump to the conclusions of resurrections and prophecies at the drop of a ShinRa employee hat… and _that_, happens often."

The President hunched his shoulders forward a little, and a grin of uncertain origin spawned across his face. President Rufus ShinRa was a decent man, but he wasn't naïve. He had seen the unthinkable, and this woman had no idea of what she was getting herself into. That would soon change however, and she would adapt to the unexplainable, and then seek explanation.

"Jane, you believe what doesn't blow your mind for as long as you possibly can… I _recommend_ it."

He was impressed at the woman's mindset thus far. She had proven herself to be loyal and inseparable from her concepts, and a strong woman who would protect her reputation to whatever extent, but whether or not these attributes were too solid and unbreakable for her to suit the role of a ShinRa manager, Rufus was unsure. Her reaction was silent to his last comment, and she was slightly confused as to what it meant. Rufus knew it was meaningless, the young woman would soon understand. He brought his arms up and pulled forth his white coat a small amount forward over his shoulders. "Pay it no mind. You're just along as an observer."

"President Rufus sir, we're coming up on his position!" the pilot exclaimed nervously. Rufus looked further back into the troop bay, where four other men sat in the dim red light of the interior.

"Prepare yourselves" Rufus said directly to the special weapons operatives seated near stashes of heavy weaponry. The President then took a more specific look at two blue dressed agents keeping very still and expressionless. Rufus's personal bodyguards were the most elite group of fighters attached to ShinRa Corporation, but even so, there was a sentiment of doubt lingering throughout the hovercraft. Tseng, who had been with Rufus since the start, and Rufus's father before him, decided to break the ice.

"We're not ready for this, Mister President" the long haired man stated. Rufus sighed and glanced at Tseng with a frown. The man's face was somewhat bony, his eyes thin and his long hair resting on his shoulders a jet black.

"We didn't have a lot of time, Tseng. The last time this person was sighted was near Northern Crater, we didn't know where he was going to show next" Rufus quickly clarified. He took a deep breath out and dropped the strain and sense of urgency from his voice. "We have him now, and we're not going to lose him again."

Opposite Tseng was another female, a short-haired blonde who would be exceptionally attractive if it weren't for her incensed features – a grim mouth and glaring, killer instinct eyes. But such things Elena did not care about, her career was her life. She rubbed her hands over her thighs as she rested back against the interior of the armored shell.

"At least call in more support, Mister President. For your sake, and ours" Elena said without any sign of anxiety. Her comment and expression was but another reminder of just how much Elena had matured since she had first entered the domain of the Turks, Rufus's crack bodyguard organization.

"No Elena, we are alone" Rufus confirmed with a nod, assuring himself he was doing the right thing. "The last thing we need is reports of the one winged angel infesting Midgar. Now equip your weapons, it's show time."

The night-walking wraith had barely come a few hundred meters from the coast before it sensed the presence of the ShinRa hovercraft. The gloved hand's grip on the long sword tightened, and the legs quickened their pace. A trail of dirt and dust rallied into the air, in front of it the source – a vehicle. There was no sound from the being as it brought its sword up vertically between its hidden eyes.

The hovercraft drifted along its side over a few humps, and then swiveled around so the deploy doors faced the wraith. Forty meters away at the most, Tseng and Elena were the first to disembark from the ShinRa vehicle and quickly survey the area. It was mostly flat, the coast was out of range and so were the mountains behind them. The two Turks strafed casually apart, keeping their eyes locked on the target ahead. It stayed completely still; the only movement was coming from the ripped black robes flapping in the wind. Elena's golden hair fluttered over her face as she readied her melee weapon at her side, a grey electric whip with a black-grip handle. She thumbed the small switch on, and narrowed her eyes at the opponent ahead. Tseng preferred to keep his right hand resting on the back of his automatic pistol, although it wasn't like him. There was something different about this opponent though, it was as if he wasn't even the one winged angel. He had been almost killed by that monstrosity, he knew what the man's ambience was like.

Sephiroth.

The one name that was feared far and wide. Tseng swallowed hard as he felt the wound tingle in his back.

President Rufus stepped out between the two Turks, and almost welcomed the sight of the cloaked warrior. He laughed aloud, attempting to convince the figure that he had no fear of the great and powerful Sephiroth. The President knew the man wasn't one to strike unless attacked, especially when outnumbered. Tseng grunted as he wasn't comfortable with Rufus's attitude, his opinion on the wraith was dissimilar. Sephiroth _would_ strike if you stood in his way. Rufus, was standing in his way.

"We've had quite some trouble locating you" the President said in a low tone, which could barely be heard over the whistling wind. "But I knew it was you as soon as I found out you had wiped out the Icicle Inn, and killed all those people. I knew it was you when we discovered you had walked straight out of Northern Crater" Rufus said. He was careful not to appear cocky as that would only provoke Sephiroth, and here, they had to catch him off guard. A smoothed out triangular boot pressed onto the grass outside the hovercraft, and Rufus took a second to look back at Officer Lacarste. She climbed out daintily and cautiously, lifting her head every few seconds to get a quick look at the cloaked wraith. She found she couldn't look at the figure for long, her eyes dropped to the grassy fields. She eyed him closely one last time, and found her knees shaking as it looked like something out of anyone's worst nightmares. Rufus felt the tension tightening as more people spilled out of the hovercraft and onto the grass. The two heavy weapons experts lined up alongside Tseng and Elena. Rufus grimaced and murmured under his breath. If there was going to be a tactical approach he had completely missed the opportunity. All of them now were standing in front of their enemy, ready to go. But the figure didn't move a muscle... until it had decided Rufus had been in his way too long. His long sword screeched in the wind as it shot down from his head frighteningly quick, and down to his side. Ominously, the wraith began a slow march forward, and hidden eyes stared straight at Rufus. "Take him" Rufus said quickly. Tseng raised his pistol, and started firing off rounds of bullets. The long sword moved to the figure's defense like lightning, and bullets were deflecting in all directions, some of them almost hitting Tseng. He stopped firing when he had to attend to his own defense. Lacarste lunged back into the hovercraft interior with a shove from Rufus and let out a small scream as deflected bullets came alarming close to hitting her leg. Rufus dived to safety, and reached for his own weapon, a pistol tucked away under his wavering white coat. He didn't fire, it would be no use, but looking up, Rufus noticed the sword tip of the wraith shining against the moonlight. It was coming closer.

Elena rushed to his defense from the right, and Tseng from the left. While they were close the heavy weapons operatives were left with a target entangled with friendly units. Elena slashed out with her electric whip, while Tseng slipped a curved blade from his belt and sliced it through the air toward the figure's undefended waist. The long sword was there in an instant, and when it locked with the drastically smaller dagger, Tseng struggled against the strength pressing toward him. As he tensed and struggled to push against the sword, he got a good look at his opponent's weapon. When recognition that the wraith's weapon was the Masamune, the Turk weakened and was thrown through the air. Tseng crashed hard into the grass and Elena was left alone against the monster. "Elena!" Rufus yelled hopelessly. He charged toward the tyrant to assist in the struggle. Elena lashed downward with her whip, and it was caught by the shining edge of the long sword and thrown back at her. A cry came from her as she was swiftly kicked in the stomach and thrust backward. Rufus stopped short of his enemy, with a stunned look on his face, both scared and amazed. He stepped back slowly, puffing and offering confused grunts, as Sephiroth went to strike him. Elena's whip threw the sword of track, and it cut cleanly into the grass beside Rufus's shoe. She appeared behind him somehow, and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him out of range from the Masamune. The ShinRa soldiers lined up high-powered energy cannons, and blasted away at the separated figure. Robes went flying as Sephiroth was driven through the air by a huge force, and he landed on his feet securely twenty meters away. Rufus shook himself free from Elena in frustration, and took a few steps forward to examine the standing man, still firmly holding the Masamune at his side. The soldiers looked at each other in disbelief; how the man was standing after an energy blast to the chest was beyond them. Rufus was taken back, but not completely surprised. He regained his breath after a few seconds, and took a few steps closer to Sephiroth as something caught his eye. His hood had fallen back when he was pushed backward. Startled once he saw the face of his enemy, Rufus scrambled back to the hovercraft.

"Rufus!" Elena shouted.

"Everyone in, we're getting out of here!" the President yelled at the top of his lungs. In seconds, the hovercraft was in motion, with Rufus's adversary dashing after the group. The Masamune drilled through the air toward the open side of the hovercraft, and impaled a soldier through the chest, killing him within a few seconds. Crimson rivers trickled from the giant wound, and Rufus went to grab the end of the sword to remove it from the man's torso. The bones in his hand crackled as black gloved fingers wrapped around the hilt and jerked it back. Rufus began a slow, agonizing scream as the sword was snatched from him, and when he was released, went to secure his right hand. As a soldier lunged forward to tackle the wielder, his head was sliced cleanly off, and flung somewhere out the side of the hovercraft. Lacarste terrifyingly backed as far away from the attacker as she could, wedging herself in an alcove. The next victim was the pilot, the Masamune slid straight through the back of his seat and out through his chest in an attempt to slow the hovercraft down. Rufus staggered past the decapitated corpse with a pistol in his left hand, and delivered a barrage of bullets into the wraith's undefended left side. He fell back, taking his sword with him, as Tseng and Elena stumbled into the troop bay. Rufus grabbed the controls of the hovercraft, and pulled himself forward, causing his hand to click and emit pain. He stomped on the acceleration pedal, and the disfigured collection of corporation managers and employees were on their way.

While Tseng attempted to comfort the horrified Jane Lacarste, he still had his heart in his mouth himself. Elena went to take over the hovercraft controls from the President, as he clambered into another seat to examine his bleeding and wrecked right hand. Elena eyed Rufus with a dirty look as she increased the speed of the vehicle.

"We weren't prepared" she muttered.

"We _were_ prepared!" Rufus snapped at nothing in particular. "We were prepared but something wasn't right. We made those cannons _for_ Sephiroth. We had them under construction back during the events at Junon Harbor so what the _hell_ went wrong?"

"He withstood anything we dished out" Tseng commented from the shocked Lacarste. Her eyes were fixed on the decapitated figure lying lifelessly on the hovercraft floor. Tseng moved forward and tucked the body away, out of view.

"Their blood is on your hands" Elena said lifelessly, keeping her eyes fixed on the grassy fields ahead of her this time. Rufus snarled and rubbed his left hand over his face, ridding it of some sweat. He gave the situation a little thought, and remembered one detail in particular that changed everything.

"… I know why it didn't work" he mumbled bitterly, clenching his teeth. His raging eyes were the last thing Elena saw of Rufus for the rest of the travel back to Midgar.


	2. The Oilfield

The Seventh Heaven bar was popular among the younger adults of the Midgar slums, but as the days passed, customers became more and more agitated at the conditions around the city. She saw it on their faces, she heard it in the stories they openly shared, and it was all too familiar. Tifa Lockheart was a black haired woman, with almost perfect features. Everyday drunken wrecks would stare into her eyes and not remember seeing a more caring and kind face in their entire lives. But Tifa's heart was reserved. She had employed a young man, Akugi, to help her take care of the increase in customers, and he was looking after the bar while she was on break. She sat outside the building, and around the corner, in an alley where hardly anyone ever set foot.

She had never guessed that the world being at peace, would be when she was most unhappy. Her heart was longing for a man who she only saw on the rare occasion these days. In the past, she had her chances to be with him, but Tifa was always one for the greater good, no matter what anyone told her. Her existence was dedicated to helping others, and making sure she had done all she could to make their lives easier, and her own self, was always the least important. And that was what had made Tifa's life hard. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed; once again, thinking of the man she loved. The dreading feeling of spending her life away from him, alone, seemed to become more inevitable every day, and it scared her.

Akugi popped his head around the corner of the bar suddenly, but Tifa was too lost in her thoughts to notice him.

"Hey, Tifa! C'mon, we've got customers waiting!" the simple looking man said. Tifa snapped to attention and nodded, following the younger man back in to the bar. It was a good sign he showed enthusiasm about his work, but sometimes it could drive Tifa spear. She never showed her annoyance however, she had all the time in the world… for anyone. Entering the bar, the sunlight retracted from her eyes, and soon the smell of cigarette smoke filled her nostrils, and then her lungs. Tifa began to wonder how many years had been shaved off her life from the constant smoky atmosphere. Akugi brushed some out of his walking space while approaching the counter, but Tifa stopped in her tracks, staring at the television just below the ceiling in the corner of the room.

"ShinRa Corporation rise to take Midgar again – Rufus ShinRa is becoming increasingly more powerful as he attempts to rebuild his father's old energy company. While the general public fights against ShinRa for food rations much needed in the slums, ShinRa refuses to give any comments, or any money to this rapidly declining situation in lower Midgar."

Tifa's round brown eyes narrowed at the news report, and she crossed the staff-only barrier behind the bar.

"Rufus…" she said slowly, recalling events that happened three and a half years ago. He had kidnapped Tifa and her allies, only to later work with them to stop the monster that was Sephiroth. Thankfully, that monster was gone, and Rufus had no leverage over Tifa or any of her group.

"I can see the city going back into a depression… Hell, we're in a depression" Akugi said quietly to Tifa as drinkers paraded around the counter rambling on about ShinRa's evils.

"Sometimes nothing can change a person, not even being given a second chance" Tifa said, dropping her head to look at the counter top. Akugi assumed she was referring to Rufus, but Tifa had another in mind. Her black skirt and vest matched the bar well, but the red ribbon wrapped around her upper arm was an out of place feature. She caressed the ribbon with her fingers; it was one of the only objects she had to remind her of her true love, not that she needed to be reminded. She had only grown more certain of her feelings as the year and a half had gone past, but it was slowly eating her. Feelings for something that could never happen were bound to only to cause pain. There was a sudden tug on her skirt, and Tifa looked down to see a young girl's hand, both anxious and worried.

"Tifa!" Marlene called out. Marlene had grown a lot in just one year and a half, but still Tifa found herself kneeling down to the girl who she almost considered her own daughter. Big, brown eyes of innocence stared up at the bartender with distress.

"What's the problem, Marlene?" Tifa asked with a genuine concerned face. Marlene was almost jumping her little legs on the spot.

"It's Dad! He says something bad is happening at the oilfield!"

Tifa brought herself up from Marlene's level, and found herself looking at Akugi.

"Don't worry about it Tifa, I'll take care of things here."

She found herself impressed with his attitude, and thankful of his natural tendency to be a kind and caring person. She placed her hands on his arms, looked him in the eye and smiled.

"Thank you, Akugi."

Tifa briskly made her way through the upper section of Seventh Heaven, with Marlene restlessly leading her through a hallway. Barret Wallace had been having trouble with the oilfield lately; anyone would do anything to get their hands on it. It was probably just a handful of thugs, and Tifa couldn't work out why Barret would need help. Marlene handed her the phone with sweaty palms, and Tifa brought it up to the side of her face.

"Barret?"

"Tifa! Something's happening here at the oilfield, I need you to come by" came a deep, rumbling voice.

"Barret, is everything okay? What's going on?" Tifa asked, looking down at the man's daughter.

"Uh… Shit, it's nothing I can talk about over the phone. Tifa, will you just come by…" Barret said rather ignorant of manners. Tifa had grown used to his bossy attitude that came with his size, and she had never been too fond of it, but her relationship with Barret was strong, they were like siblings to one another. Tifa nodded to herself.

"Okay Barret, I'll come by. Is there anything you need? Do you want me to bring Marlene?"

"It's too dangerous for that! Just get over here!"

Tifa frowned at Barret's sense of urgency; normally it'd be hard to get him worried about anything at all.

"I'm on my way" she said quickly, hanging the phone up. She glanced at Marlene. "Can you stay here with Akugi? You're a big girl now; you can look after yourself."

"Just help Dad Tifa, please!"

The van was small, barely large enough to hold two ordinary-sized people in the cabin, but with her slender figure Tifa had no problem slipping in between the steering wheel and the driver's seat. She reversed the van out of the private car park and into the street, and steered for the gloomy, grey center of Midgar, where beyond was the small town of Kalm, and Barret's oilfield.

The air was cold and the sky was grey, if it weren't for the absence of skyscrapers and the green shades of the grassy plains, the oilfield would be a place a lot like Midgar. Two huge oil drums sat at the north-east end of the field, fastened with snaky pipelines and winding ladders. Tifa's van pulled up alongside one of the gargantuan white oil tanks, and as she stepped out of the vehicle, a wintry gust sent chills down her spine. Her black hair wavered in the wind, as she made her way cautiously across the all-too-silent field. Something wasn't right – Barret had a handful of employees who were constantly working in the fields, operating the drilling machines, which were scattered about carelessly throughout the brownish butchered plain. The main facility was at the eastern end of the field, about fifty meters away from the oil drums. Tifa treaded over a shaky drilling site, sending a miniature landslide of rocks crumbling down man-made holes beneath her feet. She swallowed hard as she conjured up the nerve to call out with her voice.

"Barret?" she called once, her own fear confirmed when she noticed the shakiness of her tone. Not a sound returned to her, and her pace slowed as she approached the door of the building. She opened it ever so slightly, wincing at the creaking drone it created, and peeked through to see what she could. Everything looked sound, but empty. She pushed the door completely open, and a corpse draped over a staircase welcomed her. Tifa gasped and her frail body jumped backward. She gulped as her thoughts considered the worst of possibilities. Barret might not have been alive. She shook the thought out of her mind and briskly advanced through the doorway, and toward the staircase, checking on the corpse. She turned her head away as the details stirred up her stomach, and pressed on up the stairway, being careful not to touch the blood-soaked handrail. Muffled voices soon came into hearing range, and her rate of progression quickened. Tifa swung around the top of the staircase and trotted lightly to a window which looked into an office, trying not to make a sound. She saw people inside, people she recognized – and they weren't hostile. Tifa whipped open the office door, demanding attention. Three sets of eyes shot in her direction. The first to notice her was a man of epic proportions, barely able to fit through the doorways of the facility. A huge, muscular right arm was burdened by a silver mechanical forearm, filed with electrical wires and moving parts. The dark-skinned man extended his robotic hand toward Tifa with his fingers stretched.

"Tifa!" he exclaimed, with the faint beginnings of a smile almost appearing on his face. The situation wasn't anything to be smiling about, Barret had quickly decided.

"Barret, you're alright" Tifa said with a sigh of relief. She speedily eyed the office's other occupants. Two agents in blue, tidy suits, who couldn't have been mistaken for anyone else. The Turks. Tseng watched Tifa's movements closely, although the Turks were on neutral terms with the old members of AVALANCHE, the grounds were shaky. Tifa kept her chin up as she peered at Tseng and Elena. "What's going on?"

Barret grunted as he dropped his black bearded face down to uselessly stare at the floor. He swung a mechanical arm in Tseng's direction.

"We've got a problem" the big man admitted. Elena narrowed her eyes but kept lifelessly still as she listened to what Barret had to say. "_Someone_ is wandering across the damn continent, killing everything in his way!" he yelled, smashing a mechanical fist against the grey wall behind him. He took a glimpse at the light shining in through the only window offering an outside view. Barret sighed, and continued. "He hit us last night, only three other workers survived."

Tifa's eyes were filled with terror.

"Thr… three… survived?" she gasped, completely horror-struck. Barret tapped himself on his bare chest lightly.

"And me."

"He'll be coming back, possibly" Tseng announced. Tifa had almost forgotten that the Turks were standing in the room. His statement scared her further.

"He'll be coming back?" she cried in disbelief. "Who is he? What does he want?"

Tseng shook his head briefly and shrugged off the question with his eyes. Tifa looked at the others for an answer, but nobody seemed confident enough to give her a straight reply. Elena straightened her mouth and cleared her throat, turning to face Tifa with her shoulders high and her hands crossed over her front.

"Nobody's entirely sure who it is, but we can tell you one thing" she said, nodding her head in Tseng's direction. Tseng looked grim as memories of being wounded flooded his thoughts.

"He wields the Masamune" Tseng said plainly. Tifa felt her heart pounding in her throat, and had to lean back against the door to prevent herself from falling.

"Sephiroth's sword" she muttered quietly. Tseng felt the urge to grab his chest wound as the phantom pain started to tingle back again. He swallowed it down and began to speak again.

"We're here because ShinRa wishes to take the oilfield off Mister Wallace's hands."

"The President is going to make sure the situation doesn't get out of hand" Elena added. Barret grunted again while Tifa seemed to lose herself in thoughts next to the doorway.

"_Out of hand?_" Barret spoke up. "When you can't stop the deaths of whole groups of people being wiped out all at once, things are out of hand!"

Elena tilted her head, concluding Barret's thoughts were inferior to her own.

"But… you don't appear to have the same idea" she sighed, dishing out subtle signs that Barret was naïve in the matter, with expressions and movements that only a woman could master. Barret wasn't ignorant, he received her message, but it did nothing more than anger him.

"Hell no! If you ShinRas want to get yourselves killed that's fine by me, but you're not doing it right next to Kalm" Barret argued.

"President ShinRa says…" Tseng began.

"I don't care what you're damned President says now! Rufus almost got himself killed because he was so damn full of it! Thought he knew everything! And who knows how many people have died under his orders!"

"The subject will be contained to the oilfield, this is the most strategic position we have, and we can get him to come to us because he knows there were survivors. He'll come back, just like he chased after the hovercraft" Tseng explained carefully. The silence he had been hoping for filled the air as Barret absorbed his words. "We risk more lives if we don't do something about this now, Mister Wallace."

Those words hit home for Barret, and he found himself with the short end of the stick. "So far we've only established that he appears at night. We don't know where he is or what he's doing during the day. But President ShinRa assures you, he _will_ be back before you see the sunrise tomorrow morning."

"You've spotted the asshole once and already you think you know his attack patterns?" Barret said.

"You know who he is. Sephiroth's actions can't be explained, he kills for the sake of killing" Tseng said quietly. He stroked a hand over his chest wound. "I can tell you that."

Elena watched Tseng, and she stared off into nothing as she recalled the emotional shock she had gone through when she had thought her partner dead on that day three and a half years ago. Tseng sauntered toward the office door, and genitally touched Tifa's shoulder. She came to her senses and stood aside, watching the Turks leave the room. Tseng looked back at them both while Elena continued down the stairway, observing the unpleasant body covering a portion of the steps. The leader of the Turks gave Barret and Tifa and quick nod. "We'll be back in five hours, with our equipment, ready to go. I trust you'll make the right decision, and vacate the premises."

Barret glared at the tall man, until he followed after his partner. Tifa nervously closed the door behind her, but had regained most of her usual boldness, and put on a brave face.

"I called you because I didn't know what to do… and you've always known what to do" Barret said softly. Tifa wanted to give Barret a compassionate smile, she wanted to do anything she could to bring about her warm atmosphere, but the news was just too shocking to feel positively about anything.

"The last time we left anything in the hands of Rufus, things didn't go so well" Tifa sighed. "Maybe we've grown used to the fact that ShinRa makes a mess wherever it goes."

"Damn straight. That's because it's true" Barret grumbled. With a metal arm, Barret grabbed a wooden chair and swung it over from out beneath the desk. He sat down on it, and his weight was almost enough to make the wooden chair legs break beneath him. He pulled his ripped and torn open black jacket forward over his shoulders, visualizing himself as someone important, and querying what they would do. It didn't take Barret long to figure out what the obvious solution was, and as he looked up at Tifa he could see the exact same thing was sitting in her head.

"We have to call him" Tifa said with a certain face. Barret breathed out, and then nodded a few times as he stared hard at the floor in front of him with large brown eyes.


	3. Entrapment

**_Author's Note: _**The punctuation problem in chapters one and two has been fixed. Chapters will continue to be relatively short; hopefully this story will be completed, unlike a lot of my previous work.

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ShinRa soldiers pressed up against a huge piece of machinery on giant caterpillar wheels to shift it across the edge of the oilfield, and voiced notifications of confirmation when the giant metal contraption was in place. At the base of the metallic foot was a control console, and a man in a navy blue suit approached, punching in some commands which came up on a monitor before him.

"Our target can be monitored through each spectrum of light. _This_ time, we're prepared" Tseng said to a ShinRa commander. The trooper nodded and approached the console to investigate the piece of equipment himself. Tseng looked away, and to the white-coated President ShinRa who made his way across the oilfield to Elena. Tseng joined them both in conversation.

"And you found no trace of Wallace, or any of his companions?" Rufus asked firmly.

"We've searched the whole area."

"Not just the oilfield" Tseng added as he came to Rufus's side. "We even checked the town of Kalm, we couldn't find Wallace there, either. Maybe he's up to something."

"I'd at least like to know where he is before I initiate this operation. That man is a militant; he holds a grudge against the company just because he can."

Tseng and Elena both nodded in agreement, Barret Wallace had indeed had his fair share of activist achievements. Rufus raised his head and narrowed his eyes and glanced at the orange flaming sunset which matched the shade of his hair. "But our good friend Sephiroth isn't going to wait…"

Tseng and Elena eyed each other suspiciously, hoping the President would be taking the right precautions this time. Rufus bit his lower lip as he scanned the oilfield with his eyes. "I could certainly use Hojo right now."

Tseng's memory flashed a day back, with the face of a traumatized woman frozen in the overhead crimson light of the interior of the ShinRa hovercraft.

"Do you think _she'll_ come back?" Tseng asked curiously, with his own estimations already wedged in his mind. Rufus's fringe swayed as he looked at Tseng oddly.

"Lacarste shouldn't have been exposed to that, it wasn't meant to happen, but I told her the risks" the President sighed. He then sprouted a predatory smirk. "… Of course, she'll be back. Her life has changed, and she's not a woman to back down."

Rufus brought a double-barreled shotgun up from his side and rested it on his shoulder, Tseng didn't know how hadn't managed to spot it previously. "We end that monster's journey tonight, but I'm never one to miss out on a window of opportunity."

Tseng narrowed his eyes and shot a look at Elena, studying her face for any sent of information. A blank shake of her head told him she knew nothing. Rufus offered them both a smile as he swirled around and approached the main mining drill situated in the middle of the oilfield. He raised his arm in the air, and with his fingers signaled for a group of inactive ShinRa soldiers to pull it down. "Get this thing pulled down, we'll need the oilfield as flat as possible."

Tseng and Elena caught up with Rufus with concerned thoughts as he carried on with preparations.

"Mister President, what exactly do you mean by… 'Window of opportunity'?" Tseng asked hastily.

"Sephiroth has proved a formidable foe, I doubt you'd disagree" Rufus said, keeping his eyes on the ground ahead as he walked across the field. Elena noticed his expression wasn't overconfident, but fixed in the future, planning ahead. "We can't kill him. I've strived to make his end the very cause of my life, when possibly I should instead adapt to the situation."

"I'm not understanding you, Rufus" Elena spoke up with a hint of disrespect. Rufus never cared for formality, and growing up he always had a problem with it, so he spared Elena the exercise of discipline and stopped in his tracks, grabbing her by the shoulder and looking her in the eye.

"It is my belief Sephiroth can't necessarily be killed, and therefore we need another method of stopping him. We can also benefit from the result of what happens here tonight."

"What method did you have in mind?" Tseng asked. He released Elena, and she shrugged off the tension. Rufus continued walking toward a large crane-like structure ShinRa had only recently assembled on the northern edge of the oilfield, facing the coast.

"We're going to catch him."

Tseng and Elena watched Rufus proceed toward the structure, as the cool air assisted in sending prickles across Tseng's back. Elena was less sure about the extremities Rufus would take, but then again she was less informed. Tseng swung around, considering what Rufus's words could mean.

"I hope he knows what he's doing" he said grimly. Elena looked at Tseng not as a love interest, but as her partner, and a Turk. A comment wouldn't have been necessary even if Elena wasn't the strong silent type she had become. She wasn't completely conscious of it, but Elena was a different person than she was a year and a half ago. Back then, Tseng and the others would be lucky if they could get five minutes silence out of her, enduring her unnecessary and somewhat clumsy comments all the time. With the realization that being a Turk wasn't an excuse to have a needless craving for the higher ranks, Elena had slowly become a different person, and the severe torture she had suffered in the Forgotten Capital had been a major influence toward that. In that time, she had also realized that the President came to obscene verdicts with the opportunities he had, and usually, they were not safe. She looked at Tseng, suddenly seeing him in a different light, fearing what could potentially happen.

"Capturing Sephiroth… is that possible?"

Tseng swallowed hard and slowly shook his head from side to side.

"There's only one man I know who can defeat Sephiroth… and he disappeared a long time ago."

Rufus ShinRa felt a surge of power overlooking the oilfield, packed with ShinRa soldiers. Although his company had been damaged after the ShinRa capital building came crashing down against the might of a diamond giant stomping across the land, it was reforming. He stroked his hair back, and chuckled quietly to himself as he watched his troops mobilize.

"What's so funny?" a female pitch asked. Rufus swung around, jolting at the woman's voice. "Thought you were alone?" Lacarste asked as she leaned against the platform railing.

"Officer Lacarste…" Rufus said, caught off-guard. "Most surprising."

"I'm not here to challenge you again Rufus, but I can't back out now that I've seen the impossible."

"You've made an unusually quick recovery" he said, eyeing her suspiciously. "It's only been a day since you saw a ShinRa team fall down in pieces in front of you… And yet you're here, the one place you by all means should want to stay away from. What's going on?"

"Don't be so surprised, you knew I'd return."

"Yes, but not no soon, I must admit. You're not in shock, are you?"

"No. Of all people, I think I'd know when I was facing shock."

Rufus narrowed his eyes, and turned back to the view below him.

"So then, what _are_ you here for?" he asked, starting to lose interest in her presence, being more occupied with the situation at hand.

"To learn."

"It's not right; you should be enjoying your company apartment back in Midgar."

"After seeing what I did? Rufus, I have studied the Lifestream, and its effects, in the footsteps of Bugenhagen, but never have I seen anything like that."

"Then what are you doing here? The company my father stood for and the company _I_ stand for was dedicated to taking that energy away from the planet, and utilizing it for a common power source. Any environmentalist would fight ShinRa to the death… so why are you standing here with me now?"

"What's been done is irreversible, you can't take that back, but the Mako Reactors are disabled now…"

"Or maybe I'm talking to a woman interested in nothing more than money and power, who'd turn on me the moment she had the chance. ShinRa had a woman like that once."

"Preposterous! The reason I'm here is because I share with you an interest in the planet, and the wellbeing of ShinRa."

"Denial is the first sign of guilt, Jane" Rufus smiled, turning to her. "But then again it's easy to accuse someone of being guilty when they deny _anything._"

"What's your point?" she asked, not quite knowing her stance.

"Oh there's no point. I don't bother with points, just results" he said in a slightly louder voice, as if he had become fed up with her. "You've got the job, Jane. However, remember… my eyes and ears are everywhere. Understood?"

"You're crystal clear, Mister President." she said hesitantly after a moment of silence.

"Good" he nodded firmly, turning away. "Now leave."

Rufus listened to Lacarste step onto the elevator platform, and it lowered out of his hearing range. He must have been so wrapped up in his own thoughts before that the sound of the elevator ascending had gone unnoticed. Rufus sighed in an irritable manner; he wasn't as exultant as he had been two minutes ago. A muffled voice and static came through a radio attached to a console to the left of the President, and he listened without moving a muscle.

"Mister President, everything is ready."

Rufus recognized the voice of Tseng, and brought his left hand to cover a right broken one, wrapped up in white bandages.

"Excellent" Rufus murmured.

Waiting was an unpleasant game for the ShinRa soldiers surrounding the oilfield, as the wraith may have struck at any time. The very name of 'Sephiroth' made them shiver in their boots, even though the night wasn't particularly cold. The two Turks seemed to have an aura of safety, as the soldiers closer to Tseng and Elena felt somewhat safer. The Turks were based near the main facility, facing the oilfield from the front of the building. Tseng reached for his radio, pressed down a red button and spoke into it.

"All southern groups, report."

He had to wait for a moment for the reply.

"This is Alpha; we've got nothing, over."

"Beta here, nothing, over."

Tseng awaited the reply of Charlie team, and worried stirred when the radio replied only with static.

"Charlie team this is Tseng, do you copy?"

It wasn't until Elena's electric whip slashed outward that Tseng realized Charlie team wasn't going to reply. He looked at her, and then up at Rufus's high position. The President's eyes were wide and anxious.

"Let's have some light to the south!" Rufus shouted at his soldiers below. A giant beam of whiteness arced through the air, and then fixed onto a small hilltop behind the main facility. The Turks walked into the light, already on their way, but ordering other units to stay put. They reached the hill where Charlie team was supposed to be positioned in just over a minute, but there was no sign of them.

"Take that side" Tseng ordered, tilting his head to the left. Elena nodded, and treaded down the side of the hill. Tseng walked in the opposite direction, widening his eyes to see through the darkness. There was a flash of movement, and instantly the Turk had his arced silver blade in hand.

Elena froze as the vertical column of bodies came into view, all stuck together by a long sword, which she recognized as the Masamune. She quickened her pace to investigate the area, but stopped again as the sword dislodged itself with an oozy noise, and floated in mid air, supported by nothing. Suddenly, it whipped in the oilfield's direction, over the hill and toward Rufus's structure. The sword was returning to its wielder. Elena grasped her radio and brought it up to her mouth.

"It's a trick. It's heading in the President's direction" she said promptly and furiously. In the distance, she could see Tseng start a sprint for the northern edge of the oilfield.

Rufus narrowed his eyes and turned around slowly, facing the edge of the scaffold platform, and with a broken right hand, brought the shotgun barrels down to face the ground below him. He approached the end of the platform slowly and cautiously. Black robes were undistinguished against the dark background, but Rufus knew he had met his attacker as the figure lunged higher than the scaffold and directly above the President's head. When Rufus saw the blade thrusting toward his forehead, he fired a blast from his shotgun, hitting the attacker square in the chest. The wraith uttered no noise, but rocketed through the air on an unplanned trajectory, crashing down into the center of the oilfield. As Rufus regained his breath, he looked down at the isolated figure.

"Fire the cannons!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. From all four corners of the oilfield, the attacker was pounded by four shimmering blue beams, enveloping him in a glowing sludge which pinned the mighty Sephiroth to the ground. Instead of awaiting the arrival of the elevator, Rufus descended down the side of the scaffolding by climbing down and dropping the last few meters. He headed toward the immobilized body lying in the middle of the field. Tseng was at the President's side in just a few moments, and the two watched the black robed wanderer shuffle and struggle against the hardened substance, but he was trapped. Rufus allowed a delighted smile spread across his face.

"We have him" he chuckled, leaning down to the man's head. He placed his fingers around the edge of the hood, but he halted. The trapped attacker had an opened hand with fingers extended – raised as far as they could go, and instantly the President backed away. He had seen that gesture before. Tseng frowned confusedly.

"What is it?"

"I don't know…" Rufus said wearily as ShinRa soldiers came rushing to surround the captured subject. The ground beneath them began to rattle consistently, and frustrated and worried soldiers exchanged looks. Rufus grimaced. "No… No! This can't happen!"

Tseng backed around in a circle, staring at the brown, dug-up field shaking like a mountain would before an avalanche. The soil below them burst upward in a roaring explosion, and a set of jaws, gargantuan in size swallowed a handful of ShinRa soldiers whole. Rufus and Tseng backed away just inches from the emerging monstrosity's outer surface. A green and grey serpent the length of the oilfield itself slithered out of a colossal opening in the field, ravaged and torn by what looked like giant bites taken out of the creature's scaly skin. As a winged tail sliced into the air, Tseng gazed at the skeletal makeup of the creature through a missing portion of exterior skin. In seconds, the beast was airborne, soaring through the sky, high above the oilfield, wrapping around itself and screeching an ear-piercing shriek. Rufus stared at the flying snake in awe, until he brought his eyes down to glare at the original tyrant. His hand was still stretched.

"I've got a problem here!" Elena's voice came through the radio. Tseng stared in the hill direction, but he stopped short with his eyes when he found her outside the main facility, surrounded by people in overalls…

Rufus wasn't stupid, and was quick to make the connection.

"They're Undead" he muttered. The workers that had been slaughtered in Barret's oilfield had risen from their places. Tseng was already charging toward his partner, leaving Rufus alone with frantic soldiers, firing entire rounds into the sky at the serpent. A mass of zombified soldiers armored with the standard blue ShinRa vests and padding, stampeded across the oilfield with their arms dangling by their sides and their shoulders forward. Rufus nodded slightly. "He killed them to use them…"

Healthy ShinRa soldiers rushed to Rufus's defense, firing a wall of bullets at the group. As the shots blew away modicums of skin and bone, spraying the air behind them with blood and specks of matter of all kinds, the zombies refused to let this hinder them. The two sides came together in a chaotic and bloody mess, with some of the zombies near the back of the group hacking away at the coating pinning their summoner to the ground. Rufus sneered and charged between two occupied Undead that had almost been decimated to skeletons, and brought up his shotgun from his waist, taking aim and blasting one of the zombies trying to set the wraith free. The body was blown back a few meters, and another hollow-point shot to the legs and the zombie was unable to get to his feet. The twin barrels of the shotgun blasted with a magnificent force when they were pressed against another's head, but shortly afterward Rufus was struck from behind, and he yelled as he fell to the ground.

"Mister President!" someone yelled. Whoever it was, they were maimed by a convoy of new zombies rising from the ground immediately afterward. Once the solid coating around the downed summoner's wrist was hacked away, he was able to cut himself loose with the Masamune. The figure rose above Rufus, sticking the sword close to the man's chin. Rufus stared into the eyes of his destined opponent, Sephiroth, and just like a night ago, something was very wrong. But those marble green eyes had Rufus captivated, he was frozen stiff. Nothing was said, Sephiroth was going to murder the President and there was nothing that could be done.

Tseng and Elena once again found themselves staring death in the face. But the zombies' attacks were slow, and for the most part avoidable. But they were gathering like a virus around the outside, slashing their way to the inside of the circle.

"It's been a pleasure working with you" Elena smiled faintly as she arched back from a skeletal arm swinging toward her jaw.

"We're not dead yet" Tseng snarled as he swiped at an opponent's ribcage. For an incredibly short moment, Elena thought it humorous that their roles had suddenly reversed, right near the end. It was then when a huge body thudded on the ground between them, landing in the middle of the circle. As Barret's mechanical arm formed into a rotating volley of firepower, the zombies were blasted into clouds of dust. Triple cannons targeted the onslaught of bodies, and Barret didn't hesitate for a second to demolish all he could. The roaring of the gunfire throbbed in Elena's ears, but over the noise she heard Barret yell.

"Bet you're glad I'm here now, huh?" the big man bellowed.

"You continue to surprise me, Mister Wallace" Tseng announced with a hint of respect over the thrashing cannons rolling around Barret's arm. Another body swooped down from the top of the building; this one was much thinner and agile. Elena caught her face as the woman launched a spinning roundhouse at an approaching Undead. Tifa Lockheart.

"This is sickening" Elena muttered.

Rufus ShinRa screamed as the blade pierced his left shoulder, slowly digging through the top of his lung as Sephiroth forced it through slowly. Amidst the excruciating cries, Rufus knew that his killer would be taking pleasure, no doubt. The Masamune finally emerged through the other side of his body, drenched in the President's blood.

"You lose, Mister President" the man spoke with a raspy voice. Rufus's eyes widened as he tried to breathe. He had finally spoken. The fiend withdrew his sword from the helpless and dying President. Rufus let out another yell when the tip of the blade hooked his skin. Two black buckled boots placed themselves behind the would-be killer, not so much different from the tyrant's, but in a much more wearable condition.

"Is it true?" the new entrant asked, causing the cloaked warrior to swing around in surprise. Rufus felt some temporary relief as he lied back against the soil. Suddenly the oppressor had become the dwarfed figure amongst the crowd, in spite of the Undead ravaging through Rufus's troops only a few meters away. The man labeled as Sephiroth noticed the attributes of this man instantly. Golden hair, dreamy blue eyes, and the indigo uniform of a SOLDIER operative.

"What a small world" he said, swiping the Masamune backward with a quick flick of his wrist. The long sword trailed behind him, as the wraith took a few steps forward to examine his new enemy. "Cloud Strife."

When the man came too close, Cloud unsheathed a magnificent blade three times the width of the Masamune, and twice as thick. Aligned with gaps and a red stripe running from the tip of the blade to the base, Cloud had the buster sword at his enemy's throat before Sephiroth could even bring up his blade. Cloud frowned suspiciously.

"Not like you" he said quietly. Anything behind the hood, Cloud was unable to see, except for those familiar marble eyes. They seemed to glow against the blackness, but Cloud hadn't been in the presence of his old foe for quite some time. Suddenly, ShinRa zombies were lunging for Cloud's side, and with a powerful sword stroke, the buster sword sliced one right through the middle. Sephiroth was given time to leap backward, and from under his feet came a massive set of boney trapezoid draws, snapping for Cloud as he leapt back to safety. The serpent whooshed past him, shooting up into the air and flicking its tail at the ground wherever possible. Trying to jolt at Cloud, the serpent did nothing but take out the summoner's own devilry. Cloud moved around the pincer of the winged tail graciously, his every movement fluid and precisely calculated. Rolling and jumping wherever he had to, the serpent was soon too high to reach him. Looking down at Cloud was the hooded fiend, sitting atop the lengthy beast, anticipating his next move.

As the ShinRa soldiers fell, the Undead became numerous. Pinned against the ridged wall of the facility, Barret Wallace fired at anything his gyrating cannons would lock onto. Spraying the assault of zombies with a hail of gunfire, the ex-ShinRa soldiers were quick to become wading sticks of bone, dangling with flesh and clothing. Inside the facility, standing on the main staircase facing Undead left, right and center, were three ill-prepared fighters, not equipped to take on a horde of massing, blood-thirsty puppets. Tifa took a step forward to balance on top of the hand railing of the two-way staircase, and then lunged forward into the air, flipping, and diving into the catastrophe below. Limbs flying in all directions, Tifa crushed zombies mainly with her legs as they poured in through the flattened doorway. As the zombies closed in on the Turks above, Barret suddenly appeared behind the gathered Undead, his cannons forming a green ray between each other, sizzling with energy, producing a glowing emerald ball around the center mechanism that acted as an arm.

"Get out of there!" Barret yelled furiously. Tifa hopped back when she had some clear space, placing her hands on both the Turks shoulders, pulling them backward with her. They were marginally out of range when Barret released the orb of energy, and it impacted into the center of the Undead making their way slowly up the steps. Naturally, there was a brilliant explosion, and a cluttered collection of body parts soared from the blast, leaving nothing but charred remains of disfigured ShinRa soldiers. Tifa crashed through an office window as the might of the detonation threw her forward, with the Turks rolling through subsequently. She hopped up to her feet, and wiped her forehead with a victorious smile. As the Turks stood up, both wiping themselves down of dust and debris, Tifa noticed they looked markedly unhappier.

"The President" Elena said to Tseng, as she rushed back toward the facility entrance, which had been partially torn down from Barret's blast. She shouldered her way past the man she had no respect for, and he looked after her. Tseng was next, hurrying after her.

"That woman has issues" he said to Tifa as she joined his side.

"Cloud!" Tifa gasped as she scurried after them.

"That's the last damn time I save your life" Barret grumbled discontentedly.

Cloud Strife speedily made his way up the scaffolding, with amazingly quick foot work and using his sword to catch in between the bones of the structure and propel him upward. He flipped to land on his feet on top of the scaffold where Rufus had stood not long ago. As the serpent tossed and turned through the air, it gradually made its way toward the scaffold under its summoner's command, fluidly bobbing up and down through the air to increase speed. From a hefty collection of armaments stored in a rack hanging from his shoulders, Cloud reached for a smaller blade, and jammed it into place to fit on the underside of his buster sword. It fitted together with a satisfying click, and he brought the duo-sword combination up to his right shoulder with both hands. As the snapping maulers took a crunch into the side of the scaffolding, Cloud jabbed the sword into the side of the serpent's lower jaw, using it as a hoist to drive him up and over the disk-shaped cranium, dislodging and bringing his sword with him. When he slashed downward, the Masamune was there to greet him, and blocked his strike with a metal on metal shriek.

"Impressive" the daunting voice complimented. Cloud's boots pressed against the snake skin as he landed, and took a low swipe at the wraith's legs. The Masamune was an easy blade to control, and the long sword obstructed the buster sword from reaching the summoner once again.

"How is it you were able return, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked stringently as he pressed his body weight against his enemy's weapon, attempting to throw it out of range to come back quick enough to defense.

"The answers are coming, Cloud. You'll understand soon enough, if you're still alive."

A pointed boot jarred Cloud's open shin, causing him to collapse momentarily. Making the mistake of thinking he had won, Sephiroth left himself open long enough to be cut along the stomach, creating a large crimson graze amongst the black robes. He stumbled backward, as did Cloud, and the two rested on the bobbing serpent's head. Holding his sword high in the air, a blue and purple hue crackled and hissed as it intensified and expanded, then surged along the snake's wavering neck, leaving a black engraving trail along the creature as it charged forward. A stream of the force shattered apart as it hit the downed Sephiroth, and the black robes fluttered about as the man arced through the air. The serpent jolted in an upward spiral as it tried to shake off the pain Cloud had sent dispersing through it. A tail whipped toward the head, and Cloud strafed slightly to avoid the jagged wings striking for him. The serpent tilted, and Cloud lost his balance, falling backward and then started a drop toward the oilfield. The jaws came back seeking him out, nipping anywhere they could to try and catch him. They did, and Cloud found himself holding the serpent's teeth apart with his buster sword, doing all they could to clench together. Cloud disconnected the lower half of his sword, separating the two pieces, and stabbed them both into the gums of the creature. His arms extended, Cloud flipped himself backward, severing the sides of the serpent's jaws as he did, and departed gracefully from the zombified monster. As he landed somewhere on the outskirts of the oilfield, the snake came crashing down in a pile of bones and jade scales, causing a tremor to stretch right to the coast. Cloud emerged from the dust cloud, seemingly unscathed, and slotted his weapons into place behind his shoulders.

A blissful smile covered Tifa's face when she saw him emerge unhurt. She ran toward him, almost in a skip, and stopped in front of him, offering a relieved and caring face. He avoided eye contact, gave her a nod, and continued toward the wounded President. Tifa disappointedly watched after him, hurt and shocked that he'd pay more attention to the head of ShinRa Corporation than to his best childhood friend. Barret was relatively surprised himself, and that didn't happen often. Cloud leaned down to the President with glazed eyes and examined his injury.

"So he's left the mark on you too" Cloud commented as the President wriggled in pain. Tseng was already situated on the other side of Rufus, and looked up at Cloud.

"Sephiroth disappeared, there's no trace of him" the Turk affirmed. He looked down at the President. "He needs medical attention, obviously, but he'll be alright."

Cloud kept an expressionless face and rose from the ground, scanning the horizon toward the coast. He straightened his mouth as a bothering thought crawled into his head.

"I'll need to talk to Rufus as soon as possible" he declared.


End file.
